What an expired-registration ticket costs in New Mexico

Repeat offenses

The §66-8-116 schedule sets second-offense amounts only for a few offenses, such as texting while driving, and none for §66-3-1 or §66-3-18, so a later expired-registration ticket carries the same $25 or $50. What grows is the cost of waiting. MVD’s late penalty jumps from $10 to 75% of the registration fee (or $10 if that is more) once the vehicle is driven 31 or more days after expiration (§66-3-19(E)). The same subsection lets any duly appointed deputy or agent of the department seize the vehicle and hold it until the registration fee, the late penalty and any fine imposed are paid, and sell it in the manner the law provides for distraint and sale of personal property.

Is driving on expired tags a crime in New Mexico?

Yes, a misdemeanor, but the Motor Vehicle Code’s set-amount grade: a penalty assessment misdemeanor. Section 66-3-18(E) says any violation of the plate display section is a penalty assessment misdemeanor, and §66-3-1(C) says the same for the registration requirement. Section 66-8-116 defines these as offenses with a fixed statutory assessment, and §66-8-117(A) requires the officer, unless giving a warning, to offer you the option of accepting the penalty assessment; signing it is an acknowledgment of guilt. If you choose court instead, the fine on conviction cannot exceed the assessment and any probation on a suspended or deferred sentence is capped at 90 days (§66-8-116(C)). The Traffic Citations Manual written for New Mexico judges (New Mexico Judicial Education Center, 2001 and 2004 editions) describes penalty assessment cases as traffic offenses rather than criminal ones, with no jail time involved, and says the general Motor Vehicle Code maximum in §66-8-7(B) does not apply to offenses with a set penalty. Section 66-3-19 itself, which makes driving after expiration unlawful and sets MVD’s late penalty, is not on the penalty assessment list; a charge under a section that is not on the list comes as a notice to appear in court rather than a penalty assessment (§66-8-123(A)). What a court could impose on a §66-3-19 conviction is an open question: §66-8-7 makes any Motor Vehicle Code violation not declared a felony a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $300, up to 90 days in jail, or both, but only where the Code specifies no other penalty, and §66-3-19(E) does specify one, the owner’s late penalty. The judges’ manual says the §66-8-7(B) maximum does not apply where a specific penalty is set within the section itself, but no statute, court rule or court publication found says whether that late penalty counts, so this page does not settle it. Read the section and the box checked on your citation.